FRIDAY
JULY 31, 2015
< Have a fun, safe long weekend There will be no Townsman published Monday, August 3 CAMPFIRE BAN REMAINS IN PLACE
See full story | Page 3
Towards restoration >
Funding secured to finish work on historic St. Eugene Church | Page 4
Round 3 recap
Jared du Toit at Pacific Coast Amateur Championship| Page 9
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Vol. 64, Issue 147
Proudly serving Cranbrook and area since 1951
www.dailytownsman.com
Puttin’ on the writs Longest election campaign in Canadian history is looming C AROLYN GRANT
Though no official announcement has been made, national media has all but confirmed that Prime Minister Steven Harper will drop the writ, indicating the official start to the federal election campaign, on Sunday.
Cougars spotted in Park Royal vicinity ARNE PETRYSHEN
This will make it the longest election campaign in Canadian history. Kootenay Columbia MP David Wilks says he has not been told anything officially. “I only know what the media is reporting, I have not been told by the Party,” Wilks said Thursday morning. “The media seems pretty sure. They expect the writ to be dropped which will make for a long campaign.” Wilks says that a fixed election date means the campaign has already begun in any event. “Certainly the leaders have been campaigning since the beginning of the summer. I’ve been around the riding as have all the other identified candidates.” If the writ drops, things will change for Wilks as he moves into campaign mode. “I won’t be doing what I am today which is funding announcements,” he said. “I have more on Friday, in Revelstoke, Golden, Invermere, Canal Flats and Cranbrook. Once the writ drops the focus will be on the campaign.”
BARRY COULTER PHOTOS
A solid evening of rock at the Key City Theatre Wednesday, July 29, with only one short smoky interlude. Theory of a Deadman played for a sold-out house, and hard-rocking duo The Standstills opened the show. See Page 2 for a special photo feature.
See LONGEST, Page 4
Wilks admits $32.6-million ‘mistake’ in recent funding announcement
Over the course of the summer there have been a number of cougar sightings around the city, notably around Park Royal. According to the Wildlife Alert Reporting Program on the WildSafeBC website, there were cougar sightings on July 17 and on July 21 near Mount Royal. “We’ve had a couple of cougars sightings,” said Sonja Seher, Kimberley and Cranbrook Community Coordinator of WildSafeBC. “It’s just been one every couple of weeks, basically, that someone reports a cougar.” Seher said it is nothing out of the ordinary, since Park Royal borders the Community Forest.
Kootenay-Columbia MP David Wilks has admitted to a $32.6-million “mistake” after a Revelstoke Mountaineer investigation uncovered multimillion-dollar discrepancies in a funding announcement made in Revelstoke on July 16.
See COUGARS, Page 3
See WILKS, Page 5
AARON ORL ANDO Revelstoke Mountaineer With files from the Townsman
Kimberley Kaleidoscope Festival 8 Days of Arts and Culture Entertainment! August 1st to 8th
www.kimberleyarts.com